


Rest your head

by chidoriXblossom



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen, Sleep, Thunderbird Two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 02:29:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19286260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chidoriXblossom/pseuds/chidoriXblossom
Summary: Word prompt fic. Scott has to deal with a tired Virgil and fulfil his big brother obligations.





	Rest your head

**Author's Note:**

> Another word prompt fic from Gumnut. This time the word was "sleep", and my word limit was 2000.

Scott surveyed the area as he brought Thunderbird One in to land on the rocky plateau, picking a safe spot beside the prone form of her larger sister.  Powered down, sitting on her belly as she looked out over the Gobi desert, Thunderbird Two showed no signs of difficulties or damage.

Scott frowned.  Virgil had just finished a long two-day rescue at a quarry and was scheduled to return home, but then he’d dropped off comms and no one had heard a word from him since.  It was very out of character, so naturally Scott had headed out in Thunderbird One to investigate.

“I’m just landing now, John,” the eldest Tracy reported.  “All seems normal on the outside. Any word from him?”

_ “No,”  _ John’s voice replied.  _  “My calls still aren’t getting through.  I’ve linked Thunderbird Two’s access controls to you so you can get aboard.  No emergency codes have been activated.” _

“Thanks, Thunderbird Five.”  Scott climbed out of his flight chair and made the short walk across the rocky ground towards Two.  Her hatch lowered on his command and he was taken up in one smooth motion into her cockpit.

The sight that met him made him sigh and shake his head.  “Honestly…”

Virgil was in the pilot’s seat, leant forward with his head pillowed in arms folded awkwardly over the steering column, fast asleep.

Seeing him safe and well, just overly tired and clocked out in the cockpit of his beloved ‘bird, was a huge relief to Scott.  Considering all the comms silence the rest of the family had been starting to worry that something bad might have happened. Maybe there had been some kind of accident.

It wouldn’t be the first time...

Scott removed his helmet and walked up to the front of the cockpit, upon which he instantly caught a whiff of shampoo.  One simple deduction later and he realised Virgil must have stopped on his way home to use the onboard shower and change into a clean uniform.  He probably hadn't meant to fall asleep before he could get home, but at least he’d done it while Thunderbird Two was still safely on the ground, and not ten thousand feet up.

A tap to his communicator in his own silver baldric and Scott was in touch with John.  “Stand down, Thunderbirds Five. I’ve found Virgil, so we're good. We’ll be back at the island shortly.”

_ “Is he okay?” _ came John’s concerned tone.  

Scott smiled as he looked down at Virgil.  “He’s fine. Just a little tired.”

He ended the call after that, deciding that further details weren’t necessary at the moment.  Besides, this was blackmail material of the highest quality - Scott may be the oldest and most mature of the brothers, but even he wasn’t above the occasional good natured prank or a bit of brotherly blackmail.

And getting dirt on Virgil was normally far from easy.

His brother’s black hair still looked slightly damp and was going a bit fluffy, free of product and any form of styling.  If they’d been at home Scott probably would have poked fun at him for it. Virgil was almost as obsessed with his hair as Scott was - he didn’t like leaving the island unless it was neat and tidy.

Now it just looked like a bit of bed head, even though he wasn’t in bed.  Which was where he should be. Fortunately Thunderbird Two had a bunk set into the wall beside the small shower room.  A bunk Scott doubted had been used once during this latest mission. 

Typical Virgil.  Always putting the mission before his own needs.

Selfless, compassionate, loveable Virgil.  Scott wouldn’t change him for the world.

“Virgil.”  He reached out and gave his younger brother a gentle shake, just enough to rouse him without giving him a fright.  Disturbing a sleeping Virgil was generally considered quite dangerous within the family - only Scott and Grandma had the courage to do so.  “Hey. Come on, you can’t be sleeping there.”

As expected, Virgil woke with a grumble.  His head came up, one hand rubbed at his eyes, and the other reached out to bat at Scott’s hand.  “Go ‘way… Be down in a minute…”

Scott smirked.  “Oh yeah? Down where, Virgil?  You do realise you’re not at home, right?”

“Huh?”  Virgil finally blinked up at him, and Scott watched as those bleary brown eyes began to clear.  His head turned as he looked out the cockpit windows. It took a moment before he finally seemed to realise he was even  _ in _ the cockpit.  Then confusion.  “What?”

Scott rolled his eyes.  “Gobi desert. You landed here after finishing your mission, I’m guessing to clean up before heading home.”

Virgil sat back in his seat, shoulders hanging and head dropping back heavily against the headrest.  The picture of exhaustion. “But I flew home.”

“I can confirm you didn’t,” Scott replied, then slipped a hand under Virgil’s arm.  “Come on, up. I need to get you home.”

Virgil didn’t move.  “But, I remember the flight…”

“You must have been dreaming.  Based on the comms silence I figure you’ve been asleep for about an hour.”  Scott tugged with a bit more insistence. “Up, now.”

He got his stubborn brother on his feet and escorted him out of the cockpit.  The bunk was hardly spacious, just a previously empty nook in the wall that Virgil had converted into a sleeping space for situations such as this.

It wasn’t his bed at home, but at the moment Scott decided it was the next best place for his sleepy, subdued brother.

He helped Virgil into the bunk, a gentle hand on the top of his head to prevent him bumping it on the storage rack above.  Virgil immediately slumped sideways and face planted the pillow, forcing Scott to lift his legs up and get him fully into the bunk.

When Virgil was this tired he was useless without a minimum of ten hours uninterrupted rest, and the cockpit of Thunderbird Two was not a suitable place to get a decent night’s sleep.  Sitting in the middle of the Gobi desert wasn’t ideal either.

Virgil needed to be back home on Tracy Island, tucked up in bed.

It was Scott’s job to get him there.

Once his younger brother was secure Scott returned to the cockpit and began pre flight checks.  Thunderbird Two rumbled into life as her pilot dropped off to sleep and Scott slaved his own ‘bird to Two’s console, turning both Thunderbirds in the direction of home.

~*~

Scott escorted a groggy and quiet Virgil up to the villa, having just managed to extricate him from Two’s bunk - that had been a nearly impossible task.  Virgil was a bit more awake now, the nap on the flight home seeming to have helped a little, but he was still in desperate need of some proper sleep and Scott just wanted to get him settled before he keeled over.

They stepped out of the elevator onto the main floor of the villa, both still in their uniforms, and immediately came face to face with Gordon on his way up from the kitchen.  Scott watched Gordon’s eyes give Virgil a quick up and down glance before the younger smiled. 

“Welcome back.  I just made coffee if you want some.”  A mug of the steaming hot beverage was being held carefully in one hand while Gordon carried a plate of sandwiches in the other.

“I think I’ll pass,” Scott commented, then had to reach out and grab the back of Virgil’s baldric as the Thunderbird Two pilot stepped towards the stairs.  “Ah-ah-ah, no you don’t, Virgil.”

A pathetic whine of complaint.  “But I want coffee.”

While Gordon spluttered in amusement, Scott took Virgil by the shoulders and turned him in the opposite direction, towards the stairs that led up to their quarters and away from the ones down to the kitchen.  “Trust me, coffee is the exact opposite of what you need right now.”

Another snigger from Gordon.  “You’re dancing with death there, Scott.  Keeping Virgil from his coffee? Pfft, I can’t tell if you’re brave or stupid.”

Scott ignored him and directed Virgil upstairs.  The two men entered Virgil’s room. As always it was immaculate.  Busy, but immaculate. There were blank canvases and an easel in one corner, his desk had a neat pile of sketchbooks stacked on top of it with a set of his favourite pencils, and a few of his best works were framed on his wall.

A painting of Thunderbird Two had pride of place above his bed.  Scott wouldn’t mind one of his own ‘bird in his room, but that was a request for a later date.

For now he had a stubborn younger brother to tend to, and he was briefly reminded of their childhood when he used to walk Virgil to his room every night.  Scott had always seen all of his brothers to bed alongside their mother, because that was his job as the oldest and she’d told him he had to look out for them.

It was a very precious childhood memory.

“I don’t need supervision,” Virgil commented as he dropped down onto his bed, breaking Scott out of his brief reverie.  “I’m not a little kid who needs tucked in.”

Scott frowned.  “No. You’re an adult and you can take care of yourself.  But that won’t stop me from looking out for you when I think it’s necessary.  You’ve done the same for me when I’ve burned the candle at both ends.”

Virgil sighed.  Quiet, tired, but accepting.  “I know.” Then his stomach gurgled.  Loudly.

The two men stared at each other as colour tinged Virgil’s face, and then Scott was chuckling.  “I’ll grab you a snack and some water. You get changed. If I come back and you’re still in that uniform I’ll be pouring it over your head.”

“You wouldn’t,” Virgil grumbled.

Scott arched an eyebrow.  “Just try me, little brother.”

It wasn’t a bluff and Scott could tell that Virgil knew that.  Brown eyes looked off to one side, he shrugged his shoulders and a scowl that was nearly a pout appeared on his face.  

Scott decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and left the room, heading back downstairs and into the kitchen.  A quick raid of the fridge and he found a stack of sandwiches he suspected were Gordon’s doing, and stole some for Virgil.

It was always a case of ‘first come first serve’ with food not prepared by Grandma in the Tracy household, so Scott seized the chance.

When he returned to Virgil’s room a few minutes later, food and water in hand, he wasn’t exactly surprised at what he found.  Virgil had done as he was told and changed into pyjama bottoms and a shirt, his uniform and boots flung carelessly on the floor, and he was now sprawled across his bed already asleep.

Scott rolled his eyes with a fond smile and set the plate and glass down on the nightstand.  For someone who’d just claimed he didn’t need tucked in, Virgil had a funny way of showing it.  His duvet had been shoved to the end of the bed and would likely end up joining his uniform on the floor if Scott didn’t sort it, so he caught hold of a top corner and flicked it back up over his brother’s body.

Virgil let out a faint mumble that may or may not have been a reaction to being covered over, nuzzled into his pillow a little deeper and then fell silent.  

The family bear was finally hibernating.  That was Scott’s cue to leave.

He left the water on the nightstand but took the sandwiches back with him, and helped himself to one on his way down the stairs.  Virgil would be out of it for the next eight hours minimum, so Scott was sure his brother wouldn’t mind.

After today Virgil owed him plenty.  But that was what it meant to be brothers.

**Author's Note:**

> 2000 words exactly lol. 
> 
> I enjoyed writing this one, though it took a little longer than expected. My first attempt was way too similar to how my longer story 'Take a deep breath' starts, so I had to go back and rethink this one. 
> 
> Pretty pleased with how it came out, considering I finished it at 2AM.
> 
> Now I'm going to follow Virgil's example and sleep XD


End file.
